"Jerry Jones is the only person who can actually fix this and he also might be the only person who doesn't know it is broken."- 12/30/13
Daily Commentary on the Dallas Sports Scene - By Bob Sturm - Sportsradio 1310, The Ticket

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Tomorrow, we will endeavor to elaborate about our specific plans and beliefs about the Cowboys 2013 draft plans. But, today, I wanted to partially answer questions and then fill in the blanks on a particular topic that goes hand in hand with player selections on draft day. This will be the 20th draft that the Cowboys will participate in since Jimmy Johnson left town before the 1994 draft. In that time, the Cowboys have certainly taken on a different reputation for their drafting ability and one of those cliches that analysts will use is the idea that "Jerry cannot sit still" on draft day.

He is thought of as an owner who falls in love with a target and then trades up to go get him without worrying too much about the cost. And, of course, he is thought of as a major downgrade to Jimmy (Johnson's 5 years of drafts compare favorably to almost anyone who ever drafted in any organization so that isn't a stretch).

Anyway, through covering this team, I felt it would be helpful to actually deal in facts rather than what we recall. If you polled draft experts, many would accuse the Cowboys of trading up all of the time. Others would say that they actually trade down all of the time. Obviously, this seems to indicate they certainly enjoy trading. Up and Down. In this post, I wish to document the trades they have conducted that take place using picks from the top 3 rounds only. But that alone will take up quite a bit of space.

Starting with 2012 and working backwards, here are the Cowboys trades involving the traditional "Day 1" picks:

Jason Garrett/Jerry Jones Era

2012: Traded #14-Michael Brockers and #45-Alshon Jeffery to the St. Louis Rams for 6th overall- Morris
Claiborne. TRADE UP

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2011: No Trades

Summary of Garrett/Jones:Nothing much to report aside from the trade up to get Claiborne last year. I am on record quite a bit on this trade up, with the long summary here, but the short version is that I think they could not afford to trade 2 starters for 1 in their current state. For the most part, these last 2 drafts are basically, "stay home and follow our board".

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Wade Phillips/Jerry Jones Era

2010: Traded#27-Devin McCourty and #90-Taylor Price to the New England Patriots to select Dez
Bryant and pick #119. TRADE UPEdit: Also, Cowboys trade up to get Sean Lee at #55. To do so, they send #59-Montario Hardesty and #125-Clay Harbor to Philadelphia. TRADE UP===

Summary of Phillips/Jones: This is where trading up to "get your guy" really got traction. They went up to get Anthony Spencer and then up to get Mike Jenkins and then up to get Dez Bryant and then to get Sean lee. In the process that that cost a total of 10 picks to get 3 players and 1 additional (and significantly lesser pick). If you add to that the 2008 Roy Williams trade that gutted the 2009 draft, they basically spent 13 picks to get 5 players. And we wonder why this team has so many holes.

They also had 2 trade downs, including the 2007 trade down to get an extra #1 in 2008 (Felix Jones) and a trade down in 2009 where they picked up quantity but dropped significant quality to do so. Just stay there and grab Andy Levitre has been said quite a few times since that bad idea of a trade down and settle for Robert Brewster (who never played) in the 3rd Round.

Summary of Parcells/Jones: As you can see, this is a unique period in which draft picks were used poorly, but they were always valued. The Cowboys only participated in 3 trades in 4 drafts of top 100 picks, but each time they were accumulating bodies and stepping back. They sent away 3 picks and brought back 8. This is how a roster is built quickly, if it can be done properly. Mistakes were made when Parcells ran the war-room, with the Steven Jackson/Julius Jones decision chief amongst them, Bobby Carpenter, and many offensive linemen too (Jacob Rogers, Stephen Peterman), and of course the legendary battle where Parcells wanted Marcus Spears or Shawne Merriman over DeMarcus Ware. But, overall, the efficiency and conservative nature of his draft day philosophy is in sharp contrast to say, Phillips/Jones.

They also
traded pick #80-Darrell Jackson to Seattle for James McKnight. TRADE OUT

Summary of Campo/Jones:Wow. To see it all on paper again is tough to read. This is where things really started spiraling out of control as Jerry went "all in" on the Galloway trade. In fact, he went so crazy that we really forgot about the overpayment for James McKnight with the SAME TEAM! Then, the targeting and drafting of Quincy Carter and Antonio Bryant in which neither guy was what you hoped he was and then finally a very impressive job trading back in 2002 for 3 picks to just fall back 2 slots to take the guy you truly wanted. Pretty crazy reviewing these drafts and the gutting of the Galloway trade which set the 2001 trade back initiative into motion. What is truly nuts is that the Galloway trade did not scare him off the Roy Williams idea in 2008.

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Chan Gailey/Jerry Jones Era:

1999: No trades

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1998: No Trades

Summary of Gailey/Jones:about as non-descript an era of the Cowboys history as we can find. The only notable footnotes of these 2 drafts would be the Randy Moss/Greg Ellis decision which has been discussed pretty thoroughly by now.

Summary of Switzer/Jones Era: This was certainly a very active era where the Cowboys were constantly doing something in these 4 drafts. In the end, the trades up and trades back seem to cancel each-other out in number - but don't be fooled. The quantity is out-weighed by the details. The 1995 passing on Derrick Brooks for what amounts to Sherman Williams, Shane Hannah, and Eric Bjornson seems crazy. Also, the amount of heaven and earth that was moved to get Troy Aikman his new tight end in David LaFleur should not be under-rated, either. And in 1994, sending a 1st and 2nd to get Shante Carver is a bit cringe worthy, too.

Below is a very basic summary of the trades by era. The Player +/- is simply a quantity count of players in versus players out in these trades. They, by no means, account for quality of players so it is a flawed discussion for sure. But, just so you can see the activity by era, here it is:

Head Coach

Trades Up

Trades Down

Trades Out

Player +/-

Garrett

1

0

0

-1

Phillips

4

2

1

-5

Parcells

0

3

0

+5

Campo

2

3

2

-1

Gailey

0

0

0

0

Switzer

3

4

0

0

Totals

9

12

3

-1

So, by my count, 25 trades that involve "Top 100" picks over the 19 drafts by Jerry Jones. If nothing else, you should never leave your television set during draft coverage, because as the cliche tell us, he can't sit still in that war room. If the Cowboys lack success, it isn't because they are napping. In fact, quite the opposite might be true. A nap might be what they need.I kid. Sort of.